


A Heart Rush (It Ain't Slowin' Down)

by incurableromancer



Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26634226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incurableromancer/pseuds/incurableromancer
Summary: “It’s just something the kids say, Nicky. Before you and Joe got together, for example, they might say you had a crush on him.”Nicky frowns, peering up from his book with an expression of mild offence and bewilderment.“I did no such thing. We were not so brutish as to fight with rocks. We fought with our swords. I may have pierced his heart once or twice, but I certainly did not crush it.”Or: Joe and Nicky learn a new word.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 30
Kudos: 389





	A Heart Rush (It Ain't Slowin' Down)

A mere ten minutes ago, Booker had been having a wonderful evening. With Andy and Joe out and about, and Nicky’s quiet focus taken up with some literature or other, he gets both control of the television set and some peace and quiet in which to enjoy it. He’s wearing honest-to-God pyjama pants, the flannel material soft and warm against his legs. He’s drinking some kind of expensive beer that tastes like winter celebrations, inciting in him a certain wonder as he watches snow drift past the windows, one that he rarely manages to muster even for the holidays that matter to the family. He even has a blanket draped over his lap, which makes all the ingredients for a wonderful evening and a night of restful, dreamless sleep.

But then the game goes to break, and the channel has to go and play a commercial for Orange Crush Soda that makes a big, loud, musical deal about the romantic type of crushes. An obvious pun, laid on so thickly that it makes Booker wince. Unluckily for him and his peace and quiet, Nicky is disturbed and confused enough by the absurdity of it to ask.

Booker sighs, now, trying for the third time to phrase it in a way Nicky will understand.

“It’s just something the kids say, Nicky. Before you and Joe got together, for example, they might say you had a crush on him.”

Nicky frowns, peering up from his book with an expression of mild offence and bewilderment.

“I did no such thing. We were not so brutish as to fight with rocks. We fought with our swords. I may have pierced his heart once or twice, but I certainly did not crush it.”

Booker sighs, adding onto the tally in his head of how many times he’s heard this story. They’re barely into this decade, and he’s already surpassed a number that he could represent with his fingers.

He takes a swig of his beer, glancing at the score, now back on the screen, before resigning himself to this conversation and turning in his chair to face Nicky, who is now glaring down at the well-worn pages of _Romeo and Juliet_ with an affronted quirk of his lips.

Booker thinks about throwing one of the sofa cushions at him, but ultimately decides against it.

“I know, Nicky,” he says slowly, and somewhat sarcastically, “It was all very tragic and poetic and beautiful and Shakespearean. I meant no offence.”

Nicky looks up at him again, forehead smoothing as he flashes one of his faint smiles that only Joe and Andy can read. Booker takes it as an invitation to continue.

“Crush in this sense doesn’t mean physically crushing or hurting someone. It’s a word for _liking_ someone- when you are crushing on them, or have a crush, you are attracted to them in the romantic way. Usually in the way that young people are before they work up the courage to tell that person about their feelings.”

He watches Nicky crease the corner of a page to hold his place. The paper is already so marked, thin and yellowed with age that Booker half expects it to tear. He mournfully runs a hand through his hair as he hears a resounding cheer from the television.

Nicky rests his chin in his palm, eyes roaming the room as though he’s thinking it over.

“This is not a nice expression, then,” is what he finally says. “Why so violent a word for such a gentle affection?”

Booker brings the bottle to his lips again, wondering just how it is that he’s found himself philosophizing over the language of love with a man who is and has been living what surely is one of the world’s greatest, longer than he himself has even been alive. He cocks his head to the side, uncurling his finger from the neck of the bottle as he finds the words he’s looking for.

“I know you’re long out of this phase in your relationship, but you’re reading about it right now.” He points to Nicky’s copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ , hoping that his recollection of the story holds up. “When that affection first forms- when yours did, was it not all-consuming? I know you and Joe had the whole mortal enemies thing going on, but after that. Did it, and the fears, both of reciprocation and of rejection, and even of the feelings themselves, not put a weight upon the heart like being crushed?”

Nicky tap his fingers against his chin, considering. Another of his small smiles, one that’s almost always pointed at Joe, warms his face.

Booker continues, “And it’s the same feeling when the relationship settles, and you take the time to appreciate what you have to lose, no? Like being crushed.”

Nicky’s eyes sharpen at his slip, and Booker looks away from him, aiming for casualty, busying his hands with draining the bottle.

Nicky is quiet a moment too long, as though he’s trying to work out what he could possibly say to somebody who has lost forever what he enjoys each and every day, what he has the ability to take for granted. Booker opens his mouth again before Nicky gets the chance, forcing the words out before he even knows what it is he’s saying.

“For you and Joe, though, think of how you feel when you see him again after time physically apart, or after a tough job, or when you two get some time away from all this to just live your lives together and live in your romance. It’s that affection that fills your whole chest. That’s what a crush is.”

Another round of cheering, this time louder, rings from the television, and Booker twists around to check the final score. Nicky, in the meantime, stands to take the empty bottle from him, his own empty mug already in hand. He offers Booker a fuller smile, then, nodding at the television.

“I think I understand, Booker. Thank you. The crush is the big feelings.”

Booker nods up at him, smiling back. He reaches for the remote as Nicky walks to the kitchen.

He can only shake his head, smiling wider when he hears Nicky mutter very quietly to himself awhile later, only after another game has begun and the sound of running water has begun to spill from the kitchen.

“I suppose I _did_ crush my Yusuf.”

* * *

Several weeks later, Joe and Nicky find an opportunity to get away together.

Joe is sprawled out on his back, swathed in one of Nicky's hoodies. The man himself is laying against his chest. Wrapped up in a thick quilt, they kiss lazily, sweetly, relishing the warmth in snuggling so close as the snow falls hard and fast outside. It's barely sunset, but the nighttime chill has already settled in.

The house is drafty, an old one nestled in a Canadian forest. It has seen much better days. Nicky suspects there are birds (he hopes only birds) living in the attic. Just that morning one of the kitchen cabinets had come off in Joe's hand when he went to search for the coffee grounds. They have to feed a steady stream of logs into the fire place to keep the chill at a manageable level, and even that barely manages to provide a sufficient amount of heat to their bedroom on the second floor. 

But Joe not so secretly loves the excuse to stay inside and hold each other so close, particularly after too long without a break. Nicky will never deny him a week or two stolen away here when they finally get their alone time. 

The way his brown eyes shine in the light of the fire is a wonder unto itself, Nicky thinks, face heating suddenly as a familiar warmth blooms in his chest. He hides a giddy smile in a kiss to Joe's jaw, squirming closer to press his nose into the curls he loves so much.

"I crush you, Yusuf."

Joe laughs softly, turning his face to nudge his nose against Nicky's before stealing a kiss. He sneaks a hand under Nicky's hoodie to rub his back.

"You're not that heavy, habibi. Crush me anytime you want."

**Author's Note:**

> maximum italian tenderness + joe the prettiest warmest sweetest man on the planet al-kaysani on the brain / title from girl crush by little big town
> 
> Also the Crush commercial aired in the late 70s, you can find it on youtube if you're interested !!


End file.
